Legendary fork known for its ability to crush anything.
Description
The Gastro Fork is Quina's ultimate weapon in Final Fantasy IX. Like all forks, it deals random damage with Attack, as instead of using Quina's Strength stat as-is in damage calculation, it uses a random value up to Quina's Strength instead. Again like all forks, the Gastro Fork teaches the support ability High Tide, which lets Quina build their Trance gauge faster. As all of their weapons have High Tide, and it is impossible to de-equip a character of a weapon altogether, the high AP cost of mastering it is inconsequential. The Gastro Fork inflicts the target of Quina's Attack with Stop 1/10th of the time when they have Add Status active, defeating the enemy but forgoing its EXP yield.
Obtaining the Gastro Fork yields The Ultimate Fork achievement/trophy in the versions that support an achievements system.
Obtain[]
The player could get the Gastro Fork early if they grind the frog-catching minigame, as it will be rewarded for 99 frogs. As only eight frogs will spawn at one time at most, and it takes a moment for more frogs to appear even if the player leaves a "breeding pair" behind every time, the player is likely to reach the number by the time they can go round the available marshes on a flying transport.
The player also needs to be prepared to defeat an optional boss, who has the most HP of any enemy in the game. It is best to prepare with Water- and status ailment-protection, and not equip Amarant with Return Magic, and give Vivi Mag Elem Null if he is with Return Magic. Quina needs to be present in this battle, and so it is worth getting them some useful Blue Magics, such as Mighty Guard and Angel's Snack, and use their Frog Drop for damage, as it should be powerful after 99 frogs caught.
Mechanics[]
The Gastro Fork's damage dealt with a normal Attack is determined as follows everywhere but within Ipsen's Castle:
- Base = 77 - Enemy's Defense
- Bonus = (A random value 1 ... Strength) + (A random value 0 ... [(Level + Strength) / 8])
- Damage = Base * Bonus
The damage is then modified by variables like Quina's row position and the enemy's Protect. Under Mini, Quina's Bonus would be 1. If Quina equips Healer, damage is converted to healing.
When in Ipsen's Castle, the stronger weapons do less damage than weaker weapons, and the Base part of the damage formula is altered to the minimum possible value.
When Quina equips Add Status, 1 in 10 uses of Attack (or Charge! or Counter) inflicts a susceptible target with Stop, defeating the enemy outright but the party will not gain any EXP from that enemy.
Because damage with Quina's Attack is so volatile, using a randomized Strength to calculate damage, forks tend to have moderately high Attack values, however, the Gastro Fork is weaker than the party's physical attackers' ultimate weapons. Quina only has six forks, the smallest weapon array for a playable character in Final Fantasy IX. Quina will do more damage from front row than from the back row, but is not classed as physical attacker and so lacks means of enhancing their attack power via support abilities, though they do learn Counter. Quina will still do more damage overall when they have a higher Strength stat as the random value can roll higher results, and so leveling them up is not pointless. Instead of attacking, Quina can also defeat low health enemies with Eat, which is often the better ability to use whenever the enemy is within the HP threshold.
Use[]
The player is likely to get Gastro Fork late in the game, likely only after they have the Invincible; there are four Qu's Marshes in the world, and maximum eight frogs spawn at one time, though it is recommended to leave behind a "breeding pair" so the marsh will replenish faster (even if the player always catches all frogs, more will still eventually appear). The frog catching quest can be done alongside the Chocobo Hot and Cold, as while the player is busy with the chocobo quest, the marshes have time to replenish their frogs. Once the player has a flying transport, it is easy to check up on all the marshes regularly.
As Quina learns magic by eating enemies, they do not learn new abilities from weapons and so the only considerations for equipment are Add Status properties and Attack Power. The Gastro Fork has innate Stop, which is a highly useful status, able to defeat enemies outright. Add Status works via Counter, and can be a way to inflict an enemy without using up Quina's turn.
The Gastro Fork's downside is that it is not worth using it for attacking if Quina has Frog Drop, which will do high consistent damage still without a high MP cost. Since Quina learns Counter, the Gastro Fork is still a good weapon for them, and it is worth equipping Add Status with it.
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